This invention relates to a decorative, light-weight, sound absorbent, fire resistant, space-dividing wall panel for use in open office systems and more particularly to a wall panel having a foamed in-place gypsum foam core in some instances combined with a decorative outer cover having a textured appearance.
There is an ever increasing use of the open office plan to accommodate the increased number of office workers. The open office plan concept employs a multiple of generally interconnected free standing space-dividing wall panels to section off open areas into distinct offices or work stations. A significant portion of all new office construction is being designed to accommodate the open office plan system. Preferably, the space-dividing wall panels making up the open office plan should be fire resistant, sound absorbing but still light enough that the panels can be rearranged to accommodate changing office needs. Additionally, the aesthetic appearance of the wall panels is becoming more and more important to the users.
Most present day space-dividing wall panels include an outer frame of wood, aluminum or steel and employ either corrugated paper, wood or fiberglass padding as a core material. U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,670 discloses both a wood or paper honeycomb core while U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,310,995; 4,084,367 and 4,437,278 disclose honeycombed paper cores. Examples of space-dividing wall panels employing fiberglass batting are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,424,654; 4,391,073; 4,213,516 and 4,296,579.
In building construction, prefabricated wall assemblies have been manufactured by the foamed in-place use of polyurethane foam as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,409,768 and 4,246,733. These applications are for permanent building walls and it has been found that the use of polyurethane foam in space-dividing wall panels is unsuitable. Polyurethane foam is more flammable than, as for example, fiberglass padding.
The use of unitized, laminated gypsum sheet construction in partitioning systems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,672. For example, in this type construction, two gypsum face boards are equally spaced apart in a laminated type construction by a plurality of core boards. This construction recognizes the extremely fire retardant and excellent sound controlling properties of gypsum but is extremely heavy in its gypsum sheet form.
It is also well known that a soft or cushioned feel can be provided for a space-dividing wall panel by laminating foam or fiberglass padding to the inner surface of the exterior fabric layer. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,391,073 and 4,296,579 are illustrative of the practice of providing a soft under structure to the external fabric of a spacedividing wall panel.
The manufacture of wall panels with the honeycombed paper and/or fiberglass batting cores are fairly labor intensive and hence somewhat expensive to manufacture and foamed in-place polyurethane wall panels lack the acoustical properties of the former.